THE SILENT BLADE

The silence after the decapitation was more terrifying than any scream. The warrior's head rolled to a stop near Ikel's boot. He looked at the face frozen in a mask of surprise, then at the collapsing body, and finally at the black feather resting gently on a pool of digital blood.

A primal, pure, volcanic fury erupted within him. — I'M GOING TO BURN THIS PLACE TO THE GROUND! — he roared, his fists bursting into an inferno of flames.

— NO! — Mitsu's voice was a whip of ice that cut through Ikel's rage. — Don't fight. You can't win. —

—I'm not going to stand here while a ghost slaughters these people! —

— It's not a ghost. She's a Void General. And a straight fight is what she wants — Mitsu replied, his gray eyes scanning the battlefield with feverish speed. — Our only option is not to win. It is to survive. New objective: total retreat. —

Lyra, who was already channeling healing energy into another wounded warrior, nodded. — The logic is correct. We need a plan. —

Mitsu already had it. His mind, forged in hundreds of high-level battles, processed the variables in an instant. — Ikel, forget the murderer. I need you like a wall. I want a sea of flames between us and the north gate of the village. Not to kill it, but to create a visual and chaotic barrier. Make the air itself burn! —

Ikel gritted his teeth, but understood the logic. He nodded.

— lyra, evacuate the villagers. Take them to the forest shelter by the path that Ikel's fire opens. Don't stop for anything. —

— I understand — she said, her face expressionless.

— What about you? — asked Ikel.

A crooked smile appeared on Mitsu's face. — I... I'm going to get the ghost's attention. —

The plan was executed with desperate speed. Ikel struck the ground, and a wall of roaring fire erupted, creating a curtain of smoke and ash that separated the battle zone. Lyra, with a calm that defied chaos, began to lead the terrified villagers through the flame-protected path.

Mitsu stood in the center of the evacuated square, deliberately exposed. He moved in a slow combat pattern, as if fighting an imaginary enemy. He was bait. He knew that Nyx, like any predator, would not be able to resist eliminating the apparent leader.

It will appear from the blind spot created by the burning tower, Mitsu thought. Three... two... one...

Right on cue, he felt a change in the air behind him. He did not attack. Instead, he shouted,  — IKEL, NOW! — And he swung his sword in a calculated arc, not at Nyx, but at the exact spot where Lyra and the last villagers were about to disappear into the forest.

Nyx, who was about to impale Mitsu in the back, was forced to make a decision. Her true intention was never Mitsu; it was the healer. She altered her trajectory at an impossible speed to intercept the sword. For a split second, she had to materialize to deflect the steel.

At that instant, Ikel, following the order, turned and unleashed a column of concentrated fire.

The combined attack hit Nyx. It wasn't a fatal blow, but the blast sent her rolling through the air, her stealth broken. She landed far away, on her feet, part of her shadowy cloak singed off.

That instant was all they needed. — LET'S GO! — shouted Mitsu, and the three of them sped off into the forest.

They ran, not looking back, the sound of the battle fading away. They thought they had made it. They thought they had escaped.

They stopped on a hill, panting, and looked out over the village. It was silent. Nyx had not followed them.

— We... did it — gasped Ikel.

But the figure of Nyx appeared again, standing in the center of the burning village. She was not looking at them. She was looking at the sky. Slowly, she raised a hand.

— No... — Mitsu whispered, his face paling.

He was not attacking. He was showing his true power. A sphere of pure darkness, a void that absorbed light and sound, formed in his palm. It grew, and grew, until it was the size of a house.

And then, he let her go.

There was no explosion. It was an implosion. The sphere simply expanded, and everything it touched, the houses, the barricades, the bodies of the fallen, the fire itselfwas erased from existence. A perfect circle of nothingness was left where the village had once been. It was a silent and total annihilation.

The team watched from the hill, paralyzed with horror. They had survived, yes, but only because she had allowed them to.

In the center of the smoking, empty crater, they saw for an instant an aura of swirling black feathers before fading away. Nyx's message had been delivered. Her escape was not a victory. It was permission. And now, she knew who they were.